Mars War Logs: Finding Home
by Mallaithe
Summary: Mars: War Logs AU Roy and Innocence try to find home after Camp 19
1. Shadowlair and Points Darker

**Setting the scene**

Mars: War Logs takes place on the planet Mars some time (likely a century or thereabouts) after an ecological event of some kind (the game is intentionally vague regarding the larger world etc.). The protagonists are soldiers from the guild (guilds are geographic and political entities functioning as nations that control access to water) known as Aurora. They were captured during battle with a neighboring guild, Abundance.

In addition to the guilds and their leaders known as Dowsers there is another powerful group on Mars, technomancers. They're de facto wizards that use (apparently) cybernetic interfaces in the form of gloves to channel some kind of natural ability. At some point during their youth technomancers are rounded up and taken to a location known as The Source (it's not entirely clear if this is a politically neutral location where all factions send technomancers or each faction has access etc). In addition to the politically powerful Dowsers, Guilds and technomancers a fourth faction, mutants, referred to as Dust also live on Mars. There are some Dust known as Descendants that were born mutants and are considered traitors and born unclean by Aurorans (Abundance citizens do not treat Dust well either it's implied that Aurorans treat their Dust slightly better on average). Other mutants are created by direct exposure to Mars' dangerous sunlight though there are some that mutate later in life and have not had such exposure. All mutants are expelled from human society and join the Dust unless they choose suicide first.

The armies of Mars fight with nailguns and hand to hand weapons supplemented by technomancer units. The prisoners in Camp 19 and average Aurorans create their own hand to hand weapons. Money is based on serum a substance that exists in the bodies of most people, it can also be used to heal. In normal combat Roy and Innocence's enemies are disabled or knocked unconscious, however, Roy can choose to finish them off by forcibly removing their serum.

Shortly before Innocence and Roy (Roy is from Aurora and was given the name Temperance at birth but chose the name Roy, Aurorans are named after virtues) escape from Camp 19 Roy reveals he is a renegade technomancer. Parallel to their escape and journey home Aurora wins the war against Abundance but there is an unexplained shift in political power with the technomancers becoming ascendant and newly peaceful Aurora becoming a fascist state with armed soldiers manning checkpoints in important locations like Shadowlair and Green Hope.

* * *

Innocence Smith had no business in Camp 19. Roy could smell the fear on the kid. Roy was standing at the entrance to the sand pit looking down on Innocence and the vile piece of shit threatening to rape the boy in the pit below. Afraid and wide eyed the boy kept his feet.

Roy, glaring down at the atrocity about to occur, slammed the bands on his wrists together drawing the would-be rapist's attention.

The fat fuck glared back at Roy and talked big. Twice more Roy rang his challenge and twice more the bastard shined it on. So Roy and the boy took to guards ended it or Roy might have finished the monster where it lay. The boy, Innocence Smith, thanked him.

Roy studied him trying to decide if the boy could be useful. He was clearly too young for war, too young to leave home, and sure as hell too young for Camp 19. So Roy took him under his wing, roped him into the escape plan he had been plotting for weeks and hoped for the best.

It took days to gather the intel, allies, and equipment they needed. It cost lives, human and Dust, but it was worth it. At the end they were free and heading home to Shadowlair. During the course of planning and executing the escape the boy had become Roy's shadow. Wide eyes full of trust and determination dogged Roy's every move and word. At night the boy would unconsciously huddle against Roy as his nightmares of the war raged. Roy, never a good sleeper, would hold the boy until the worst of the dreams were over and the man-child was truly resting before sleeping himself, if he slept at all.

It took weeks of hard travel to get back to Shadowlair. Roy grinned to watch Innocence's tired features light up as they reached the city and approached a checkpoint. Innocence longed to see his familiar street and family shop, hear his parent's voices...mostly he wanted to feel safe again and he could feel that in his home he was sure of that.

Roy, older and hardened, knew that what would remain after Innocence's experience in the war and the camp would be hollow echoes of the past but they would do. He kept his mouth shut and focused on keeping an eye out for trouble and their heads down.

The war had changed Aurora and Abundance in equal measure. While troops had technically been withdrawn Roy couldn't remember seeing so many military personnel in city streets during peacetime. It set him on edge.

He caught Innocence's arm as the boy surged ahead of him.

"Easy kid we have all day. Keep it low key."

"Right, sorry Roy."

"It's okay you have a right to be excited." Roy soothed and flashed one of his rare smiles.

Roy had earned his place in the world and his standing in it. He had fled the Source and gone Renegade rather than return and live in their gilded cages. He had fought in the war to protect his guild then fought to free himself from the camp before they realized what he was. He survived and was content with his life because it was _his_ but Innocence…he deserved more than Roy knew he could give. Innocence deserved a chance to roll back the clock and finish being a teenager before the crucible of bloody horrifying combat, of imprisonment and worse.

It couldn't be. So instead of mourning the impossible Roy would work to give Innocence the best of the possible. Restoring the kid to his family was a big part of that. Innocence did well, he stayed calm and cheerfully relayed facts about the neighborhood and city to Roy.

"You ever been to the slums kid?"

"No, I never really left my neighborhood. I'm looking forward to learning more about the rest of the city."

"There's some nice parts believe it or not, or were, I'll take you there sometime." Roy had spent what little of his early life had been free of the Source in the slums.

They approached a guard post and Roy took a deep breath and gestured for Innocence to stay behind him. He could hear the boy's held breath, almost feel him grip the haft of his makeshift axe.

"Hey uh I know this is going to sound crazy but we don't have ID. We escaped from an Abundance prison camp a few weeks ago."

"Escapees huh? I guess that explains the clothes. Did you know a prisoner named Prowess?"

Roy swallowed and licked his lips, spotted Innocence out of the corner of his eye and tensed slightly feeling his power settle into the glove he wore.

"Yeah, the name rings a bell."

"He's my sister's fiancée, do you know how he was doing?"

Roy thought quickly. He had been forced to kill Prowess during the escape.

"I don't know. There was a lot of chaos during the escape."

"Damn. Well, at least he was okay a few weeks ago anyway. Look I'll do you a favor and let you two in but get some legit ID okay?"

"Consider it done, thanks." Roy said and the gratitude in his voice was entirely genuine.

Behind him Innocence eased his hand off his weapon and fell in at Roy's side.

"That was close." The boy whispered when the guards were out of sight.

"Yeah let's hope it doesn't bite us in the ass later. This your neighborhood?"

"Almost, it's not far now. I used to play here one street over is my parent's store. They were in the militia before I was drafted I'm sure they'll help you Roy."

Roy didn't reply, he could smell stale smoke in the air. The distinctive reek of a habitat burn, the standard Martian construction materials didn't burn easy usually an accelerant was needed and it inevitably created a days long reek. Something had burned here recently, maybe as long ago as a month ago.

He figured if Innocence's people were alive they probably would try to help him, though he wouldn't blame them if they tossed him on his ass. Saving Innocence might buy him some new clothes, supplies and maybe a friendly helping hand or two but he would never be able to settle anywhere. Renegade technomancers weren't the kind of friends sane people with options made.

Innocence stiffened for a moment then burst into a run as they entered a new street. Roy easily kept up noting the boy didn't seem winded by the sprint either. he found some satisfaction in that. Keeping them both healthy and strong hadn't been easy on their journey back to Shadowlair. The boy staggered to a halt and doubled over in front of a burned out shell of a building at the end of the street. Twisted girders and the remnants of walls reached up to the Martian sky like skeletal fingers. Roy felt a soft blanket of remembered grief settle over him. He reached out to the boy intending to put a comforting hand on his back then hesitated and withdrew his hand.

Innocence wasn't his son and more importantly the boy would have to be tough to survive what was coming. even tougher than life in the camp had made him. For a moment Roy regretted protecting Innocence so thoroughly at the camp, maybe some of the pain he had spared Innocence would have hardened the boy and made this grim sight easier to handle. Looking around nervously Roy noted the sudden desolation of the street around them.

"My parents are dead aren't they?" Innocence asked in a stricken voice.

"I…yeah kid, probably. Look I know this is hard but we have to get out of here. Whoever did this may have someone keeping watch."

"I…okay Roy you're right." No sooner had Innocence finished speaking than a squad of Auroran troops arrived. Roy didn't need to speak. The boy fell in behind him, a second shadow, like always.

Roy lashed out with short bursts of lightning from his gloved hand that staggered the troops then slipped in with his bat and battered them into helplessness with well-aimed blows. Innocence watched Roy's back, blocking blows and landing a few savage counter attacks when the opportunity presented itself.

Roy grunted and went to one knee as a nail punctured the thin plates of his makeshift combat gear. It punctured the flesh below his right shoulder blade restricting the range of movement for his right arm. The injury stung like hell and blood flowed freely but mostly it served to hamper his aim and the power of his blows. He watched as Innocence bludgeoned the nailgun wielding soldier and dropped the last one with a vicious strike to his knee.

"Roy you're hurt." Innocence said breathlessly.

"I'll live, search them, quickly we have to get outta here." Roy said through clenched teeth as he got to his feet.

Innocence bent to the task without further questions. Roy was grateful when the boy snagged four syringes of serum. The nail had worked past his armor and further into his flesh during the last of the fight. they didn't have time to pry it out now which meant infection was a certainty. Without at least one of those syringes Roy would be dead in a few days and it would be an ugly death.

"Syringe." He said softly as Innocence helped Roy to a low portion of wall they could vault. Innocence slipped two syringes into the thigh pocket of Roy's battered prison uniform. The boy clambered onto the wall and half dragged Roy after him. As they dropped down on the other side Roy winced to see he had left a smeared trail of blood.

"Have to stop the bleeding it's too easy to track." Roy grunted.

"Among other things." Innocence said slightly reproachfully as doubled over trying to catch his breath. Blood loss was taking a clear toll. Roy laughed and allowed Innocence to steer him into an alley. It would do for the few moments it would take to pull his upper armor off and patch the wound, take a syringe and suit up again.

"Keep an eye out." Roy said and began shrugging off the makeshift plates of armor they had sewed into his uniform and Innocence's on the trail. It was a poor attempt at defense but had bought them enough time and room to save their lives more than once. He made a mental note to get better equipment as soon as possible.

Roy managed to snag the head of the nail – what little head there was – with his fingernails and jerk it free. The hurt was raw but somehow clean blood immediately flowed again then stopped quickly. Most humans on mars clotted quickly, a side effect of adapting to an environment where water was rarer than on Earth. Only the constant chafe of the nail in his flesh had caused the dangerous bleeding. He wiped at the wound, decided the syringe would be enough to keep it from opening up again, then jammed one of the syringes into his torso near the injury. He gasped winced and tossed the now empty syringe aside and started to suit up again.

"Where should we go?" Innocence asked as he continued watching the street and nearby shops for signs of observers or more soldiers.

"I used to have a place near here, in the slums, be a good place to hunker down." Roy whispered as he finished settling his clothing back in place.

"Right, good plan." Innocence said hollowly.

"Come on." Roy grunted and lead the way. They were jumped twice more before entering the slums. The second encounter nearly took out Innocence. The boy avoided getting his head smashed in by an Auroran bat by a fraction of a centimeter. Enraged Roy had cracked the offender's skull. The man had been breathing as they limped and staggered into the slums but Roy didn't think the poor bastard would make it.

Innocence had been surprised that Roy didn't kill the people that attacked them. While he had likely been about to kill Fatso when they had first met it had been more due to the monster's track record than anything else. Roy didn't take the soldiers' attacks personally. Innocence wondered if it was because Roy had worn the same uniform or maybe the renegade just found all life sacred. Well, all human life, Innocence had seen his guardian mow through a pack of moles like a berserker in a blood rage.

Innocence couldn't remember being so tired or enraged. His eyes burned but he couldn't cry. Roy was limping badly and needed Innocence's help to get by. They wouldn't be able to endure another confrontation.

"How far is your place?"

"Half a block."

"Okay come on not far then." Innocence said and hauled Roy to his feet. Roy pulled out the second syringe and jammed it into his thigh. He and Innocence waited for a full two minute count then started out again. Roy could feel the fiery itch of the boosted serum bonding with his system and going to work. By the time the door to his hidey hole was visible he was walking normally. Innocence dropped back a bit and Roy kept a grip on his weapon.

Someone was passed out on a table in the entrance way. Roy ignored the prone figure, hoping he was unconscious and not dead, and lead Innocence further in and around a corner to a ladder. Without speaking he started to climb. He glanced around but couldn't make much out in the dim light, or maybe it was the lighting combined with his exhaustion. Either way they didn't see the quartet of angry squatters reeking of stims and rancid sweat until they were charging at the duo swinging weapons. Roy shoved Innocence back and away to ensure the boy had room to swing his weapon clear of Roy's own weapon. Then Roy lurched forward and tore into the group.

Between the two of them it was short enough work. Longer than Roy would have found acceptable normally but considering how utterly fucked their day had been it would do.

"Come on, there's an actual room over here with a bed. Or there was." Roy sighed and lead Innocence to a sealed door. It slid open slowly to reveal a rickety, dusty bed. Roy entered with Innocence and helped the boy close the door.

"Make sure it's locked." Roy said absently. He was kneeling next to the bed pulling something out from under it.

"It's a miracle." He mused and revealed a crate with medical supplies and several packages of nails that would fit the ubiquitous nail guns carried by thugs and military alike.

"Roy…thank you." Innocence said.

"We'll rest up here for a couple days once we're ready we'll find out what happened to your parents."

"I…you've heard the rumors about the resistance?" Innocence asked.

They both had during their trip. The end of the war had somehow resulted in a shifting of power. The Dowser still ran the guild but the technomancers had gained unprecedented power as well. Previously banned from most political offices and relegated to support roles and strike forces in the military they were now publicly acting in capacities and seizing powers that had been beyond them before. The crackdown on movement was dictated by the Source and enforced by Auroran troops and technomancerse. The resistance had been formed by citizens fed up with the change in power and the crackdown on citizen's rights.

"You want to find them?"

"They'll know what happened to my parents. If it was just them…"

"No, this wasn't personal it's too big for that. What exactly did your parents do in the militia?"

"I don't know for sure, I never paid attention. I didn't care about politics or the war until I was drafted. People were always coming to see them… I wish I had paid attention I wish I had told them to stay out of it. I've never felt this way before Roy, I'm so angry I can barely think and I can't even cry."

"That's…normal Innocence. In a few hours it'll die down, you'll stay angry but the tears will come too. I'll help you find out what happened, I'll help you find the Resistance too, but only if it's what you really want. You can have a different life now maybe even be happy leave the war and the shit behind."

"No. Thank you Roy but I can't just walk away." Innocence said softly.

"Yeah…yeah… I know…" Roy sighed.

He stripped off his filthy clothing and piled it in a corner. He used a precious pre-moistened wipe to check the nail gun wound – fully healed – then a second to wipe down. He passed the packet to Innocence then stretched out on the bed and was asleep in minutes.

Innocence picked up a dusty blanket from the foot of the bed and took it outside the habitat to shake it out. Satisfied it was as clean as a good shaking would get it he returned to the habitat and draped it over Roy.

Roy never snored though he talked in his sleep sometimes. Usually it was nonsense sometimes it seemed to be Auroran names, Tenacity and Charity were pretty common.

Innocence left Roy sleeping and slipped away past the dead or sleeping man in the foyer and out on to the street. He stayed out of sight, content to watch the ribald life of the slums and let his aching raging soul settle.

Some hours later tired of the banality of the street he returned to the habitat. Roy was still sleeping; he hadn't stirred from his position. Cold, tired, heartsick and lonely Innocence kicked off his own filthy things cleaned up, snagged a second blanket from the crate and curled up on the narrow bed with Roy.

Roy's steady rough breathing was as good as any kind word at comforting the frightened boy.


	2. Lick Your Wounds

Roy watched the patrol with sharp eyes. Innocence lurked in the building shadows to Roy's right. They needed to get past the patrol to get food. Their own supplies had run out the day before and their serum two nights before that. They were getting weak without food, weaker than they could afford.

They had been in Shadowlair's slums for almost two weeks. They were healed up and ready to go but the streets were teeming with soldiers. The annihilation of the militia had left a power vacuum filled by too few soldiers. The end result was a dangerous spike in the crime rate and a dangerous spike in the arrogance and aggression of the more brutal troops thronging the streets.

Roy hadn't dared start shit near their hide out and for a while that had been fine. Innocence would wear a scarf and goggles and get supplies as needed. Roy would spend the nights lurking bars and shady corners picking up gossip and trying to find a safe way to contact the resistance.

Then Innocence was jumped by a gang of junkies. They'd stolen the kid's serum and supplies and worked him over pretty good. Roy had found him and taken him home, cursing his own carelessness the whole time. He shouldn't have let Innocence out alone the boy had never lost the look of a wide eyed innocent even after the war and Camp 19. It didn't matter that he had killed and would likely kill again Roy was certain that sense of awe and gentleness would never really leave Innocence.

So Roy had spent the next few days nursing Innocence. He had wanted to hunt down the junkies and beat them badly but he didn't have the time and honestly didn't know how to find the specific assholes. The slums teemed with junkies now.

"Roy?" Innocence asked.

Roy didn't reply, he could see what Innocence had commented on. A second patrol had arrived. As they settled into a new post Roy felt his stomach rumble.

"Fuck."

"Two patrols there's more than food down there." Innocence muttered.

Roy nodded and faded into the shadows with Innocence.

"We need another plan."

"We don't have time, we're too short on Serum. We should go to Charity."

Roy sighed. He didn't want to go to Charity like this. Sure she was the de facto ruler of the Slums and even owed him a few favors but she was hard as nails and washing up on her porch with hat in hand wouldn't do him any favors.

"Okay, come on kid." Roy sighed.

Charity, to her credit, didn't give him shit. She offered a couple different jobs, he accepted them all and he and the kid ate a solid meal on credit and set out to get back in the black with Charity.

The first job was to scare off a pervert who was freaking out Charity's girls and the johns. Roy did his scary act – to great effect. Innocence watched Roy and wondered how much was an act and how much was raw honesty. The blubbering asshole swore to leave Shadowlair and they left.

Innocence watched Roy light a cigarette, the dark of the slums momentarily driven off by the flare of the lighter. Roy's bicolored eyes glared at the flame as he carefully puffed to get the cheap cigarette to light. Roy was a handsome man, mildly scarred and, like most of Mars humans, perpetually smudged with dust, but handsome. At times he was warm, personable an extremely likable man who acted righteously with a streak of amused pragmatism. Others, he was two breaths from a monster.

Innocence wondered what had made Roy like that, so clearly aware of right and wrong and so clearly struggling to stay in the light.

"Come on we can hit up the cheap asshole on the way back then settle up with Charity."

"What about the missing girl?"

Roy puffed on his smoke and glanced at the sky.

"If we have time."

They found the girl, Lily, in Tierville the market section of Shadowlair. She looked bad and was afraid to talk. Patiently Roy coaxed her into admitting her pimp was a sadist with a bad clientele list.

Roy tried talking to the pig but he wanted too much serum to buy the girl's contract so Roy used his fists and a bat instead. Innocence quietly rejoiced at the man's pain. No one should be forced to live in terror and work until they dropped regardless of their profession.

The girl thanked them and ran her ass out of Tierville and out of sight toward the slums. The men followed her more slowly.

"Will we have enough to lay low again?" Innocence asked casually.

Roy laughed. "Yeah but we won't kid. You've waited long enough. We'll see if Charity can help us find a contact so we can find out about the militia and the resistance."

"Thank you Roy –"

"Save it kid." Roy said and smiled.

Roy was pretty sure Innocence wouldn't thank him for putting the kid on this path in a few years, hell a few months. Really if Roy insisted it was too dangerous he was pretty sure he would be able to convince Innocence to head to a different city and start a new life, it would take time and Innocence would hate Roy, if only just a little bit, for it for the rest of their lives but it could be done.

Only that wasn't Roy's decision to make. He had offered the kid a way out and Innocence was hell-bent on finding out what had happened to his parents and joining the resistance. So be it. It wasn't Roy's place to live Innocence's life for him. As much as it pained the older man to see aspects of his younger self reflected in Innocence they each had to walk their own path.

They made it back to Charity and settled up.

"Good news Roy I got a line on a resistance contact for you."

Roy hesitated, looked at Innocence's tired face and relaxed.

"Thanks Charity, we'll take care of it first thing tomorrow."

"Sooner the better sugar you know how skittish these political types are."

That night Roy slept soundly while Innocence watched him. Roy didn't sleep much if was injured or sick he would sleep for a day or more but generally four hours was enough. Innocence watched his friend sleep, the slow steady rise and fall of his chest and felt an ache for him.

Aurora was, in many ways, a near theocracy. Religion permeated everyday life to such a level that even the people's names were taken from the Neo-Bible. His affection for Roy and before Roy a boy on his street had been sacred secret longings. He had assumed they would fade with age the terror of his introduction to Camp 19 hadn't just been very valid mortal terror of injury and death but also exposure.

He loved Roy as a benefactor and protector, but more and more every day that love was turning in to something else. He could never let Roy know, aside from their sex Roy was at least ten years older than Innocence and that was just physically. Roy and Innocence were so very different in more ways than chronological age that nothing could ever come of Innocence's midnight longing.

Still, he would watch Roy from time to time when he thought the older man wasn't watching. He would drink in the lines of his face, the language of his stance, the way he moved and smelt, the rough amusement in his voice when Innocence had made a funny comment, the gentle rebuke when Innocence screwed up…

After a few more minutes Innocence stretched out on the floor and willed himself to sleep. The long day of exertion finally won out over his racing mind and aching heart and he slept.

Roy opened his eyes two hours later, the thin watery light of the evening rendering his bicolored eyes monochrome. He looked at Innocence and sat up. He ached from stem to stern, felt like he'd run a marathon and wrestled a mole queen at the finish line. He slipped the technomancer glove off his hand and flexed his hand feeling the ache rise and course through him.

He hadn't let out the power recently, he would have to do so that day or drain it off some other way and soon. Losing control of power and the terrible side effects of it had been one of the reasons for the establishment of the Source and the archaic conservative and brutal nature of technomancer training. A side effect was that if a student matured too quickly or their master missed signs of maturation terrible accidents could occur. Roy didn't think keeping secrets that lead to dead technomancer apprentices and masters was a particular good idea. One of the many reasons he had invited himself to leave them.

He slipped out of their shelter and into the cool air outside; he left his shirt open and picked up his armor. He sat at the table on the upper level with their shelter and began to clean and repair it. Keeping his hands and mind busy helped Roy settle the power surging through him.

As Roy worked he let his mind wander. He thought about the technomancer apprentice they had met at Camp 19, how she had allowed him to guide her to save their lives when the mole queen was rampaging, how she must have felt when he killed her master, Sean, to escape.

Another enemy. He wondered if he had ever seen her during his time at the Source, would it have changed anything if he had? No, he had seen apprentices like her before, so indoctrinated by the Source training regimen and their master's firm hands that they couldn't function outside of them. Literally could not comprehend an existence beyond them. So she would hunt him if she could and kill him happily.

By the time he finished working Innocence was awake. He prepared a morning meal for them and brought it out to Roy.

"How's your gear?" Roy asked around a mouthful as he nodded at his own gear.

They had upgraded to much better equipment but it was a far cry from new. Innocence sighed and shook his head.

"It could use a good scrub and some stitching."

"Okay, take care of it and pack up. I want to make sure this place will stay secure if we get lucky with the meeting today. These resistance people will have to be paranoid as hell. If we have to drop everything and go with them it'll be nice to know we have a fallback."

"Right. Good thinking." Innocence said as he finished his portion of the meal.

"Roy…I never asked before but…" He trailed off blushing slightly.

"What is it kid?"

"Did…did you leave anyone behind? I mean, for the war?"

"A wife or something?"

Innocence shrugged one shoulder sheepishly.

"No, I'm not the marrying kind kid. That whole renegade technomancer label really gets in the way." Roy chuckled.

Innocence's blush deepened.

"Oh. That makes sense. What…what about when you were…younger?"

"I've had my share of women Innocence, if that's what you're asking. Listen if you want a family one day then we should focus on that. People that join revolutions don't have long life spans and their families are a liability. This is your call; far as I'm concerned we can fuck off to Green Hope or some other Farmville and call it good."

"You can't stay in one place for long –"

"I know. But you can Innocence, that's what I'm saying. You're just an ex-soldier now, we can get you legit papers with a few well-placed whispers and some serum. You can have a real life –"

"I can't though Roy. For… a lot of reasons, my parents, the war….I don't want normal even if I could have it, not anymore, I can't walk away from my past and I can't run to a new one."

"Fine, but you say the word and we drop this shit only…say it soon kid we're coming up on a point of no return fast as hell."

Innocence just looked down at his empty dish. He was trying to find the courage to spill his real weakness to Roy, to tell him the real reason he couldn't have a family. But he couldn't gather the guts and then Roy was walking away to get dressed…

"Fuck." The boy sighed and retrieved their plates.


	3. Resistance Rising

Charity put them on the right track eventually, a seedy bar full of suspicious characters and low whispers. Turned out they already knew the bartender. A man named Tranquility, he had put them on the path to the best forger in the city for run of the mill papers, in return Roy had secured some for Tranquility.

Tranquility had given them the pass phrase easily enough.

"Innocence this is it, we go in that room and give them the passphrase and there's no going back. Best case scenario they take us in and we find out what happened to your parents. Worst case scenario they execute us as potential traitors."

To his credit the kid thought hard before giving the reply Roy knew was coming.

"I'm ready Roy. Thank you for your help but I understand if you need to go your own way now."

"Come on." Roy said gruffly.

Innocence felt something loosen in his chest and followed Roy.

Marcus took one look at Roy's gloved hand and bicolored eyes and shifted his stance. Body language alone was enough to telegraph hatred and disgust. Judy, apparently Marcus's second in command tried to reason with him.

"He's a technomancer-" Marcus snarled.

"A _renegade_ technomancer Marcus! He has just as much –" A massive explosion rocked the bar. The group froze and went to high alert.

"That wasn't us." Marcus snapped.

"That wasn't explosives, only a fluid overload sounds like that."

They quickly split up, Innocence and Roy sharing a hurried goodbye. As Roy left the bar Innocence's gaze lingered for a moment, memorizing Roy before he followed Judy and Marcus.

Roy followed the scent of burnt stone and hot steel to an end street. It had been a dead end but the blast had blown a hole in the wall. Next to two stunned soldiers lay the lunatic apprentice technomancer from the prison.

"Holy shit." Roy breathed overseeing the incredible destruction. Quickly he robbed the soldiers of anything worthwhile then considered the girl. He could kill her; no one would know it had been him. They would assume the blast had killed her. He could bring her back to his hideout but what then?

Roy didn't like to kill unless he had to. There was too much slaughter on the red planet as it was. He needed more information so….so he would save her for now.

She woke up muttering about murder and revenge. Instantly he regretted his compassion but calmed her anyway. Eventually she saw reason, this turn of heart was aided by some serum and rest.

"Thank you for saving me Roy." She said as she woke the second time. He was sitting on a crate across from the bed trying to think.

"I didn't have any choice about killing Sean Mary. I wish I hadn't had to."

"I … I hunted you for quite some time. I know that you rarely kill though it would be easy for you to do so. Will you have sex with me?"

The rapid change in topic caught him off guard, he felt his jaw literally drop.

"What? No, Mary –"

"I slept with Sean, and others before him. I do not mind. You are attractive and if it means my survival –"

"No Mary, if we ever have sex it… it won't be …for barter. You don't owe me sex."

"I do not mind –"

"Yeah I …I get it but…look you should be able to choose to have sex with someone you care about okay? Not just someone that's…decent to you."

"You are an attractive and powerful man Roy if we were to have sex you will likely continue to aid me –"

"Mary stop okay? You're a beautiful woman and I'd be lucky to have the privilege of having sex with you but…no. Not unless we're more than friends. For fuck's sake Mary two hours ago you were planning to kill me."

"I see. Very well then."

He taught her how to control the power in the fluid, how to avoid another incident and more. By the time Sol set he was exhausted. His eyes felt gritty and his head hurt. His emotions churned. Mary hadn't propositioned him again but he had to admit saying no again would be hard, necessary, but hard. He hadn't slept with anyone since before Camp 19.

He found he missed Innocence, the familiar rhythm of the boy's breath, the way he would rise every few hours to check the perimeter…where was Innocence now?

Eventually he slept. When he woke in the morning Mary was waiting expectantly. She still wore the same clothing that had been shredded in the blast.

"Mary we have to get you some different clothing you're risking our lives running around like that."

"But you risk your life –"

"Which is why I don't want one more fucking variable, besides one good hit in that get up and you're down for the count, you need to blend in and you need armor. No arguments."

She looked furious for a moment, almost out of control then she blinked and took a shallow breath and her composure returned.

"I get this is important Mary, look you don't have to destroy the dress okay? You can keep the whole thing or maybe sew a part of it into your new clothing but you'll get us both killed like that."

Her mask remained in place.

"Very well Roy." He marked again how young her voice sounded, more like a teenager than the twenty-something woman she appeared to be.

So he went out with her measurements and the serum he and Innocence had stockpiled. It pained him to run it down so low but since they were both technomancers they would have the skills to replenish the spent serum. So long as the local gangs and junkies kept making trouble.

He returned that afternoon with suitable clothing and armor. It was form fitting and well made so Mary's abilities wouldn't be hampered and the armor could take a few direct blows without buckling. She was asleep or maybe meditating when he entered the hideout. She opened her cerulean eyes and looked up at him.

"You have unusual eyes Roy. You're a mutant."

"We all are, it's only when you go over a certain percentage or your scan shows something weird that anyone gives a damn. Try these on." He gave her the packages and excused himself. He was reviewing ID papers at the table outside the shelter when she emerged.

She looked good, calm, competent the gear was a little too clean and new for real safety but she moved like she could handle herself at least.

"I feel…weighed down Roy."

"Yeah, sorry about that, believe me you'll get used to it. This way if you want to blast the hell out of someone you won't have to worry about your shield slipping. This thing can take a direct blow or a few shots from a nail gun without too much trouble."

"Thank you. I apologize for causing trouble previously."

He dismissed it and together they went into the city. He had some work to do for Charity and needed to be busy. His thoughts kept straying to Innocence. They got back that evening and Roy met his old friend, Tenacity, and Tenacity's dogs.

The massive lizard like animals launched themselves at Roy. He shoved Mary out of the way only to hear her cry out and go silent. He was already rolling to dodge the teeth and claws of Tenacity's animals and couldn't see what had happened to Mary. As he came to his feet he launched a blast of lightning at the nearest animal. The electricity stunned it and kept it in place. Taking advantage of the moment Roy landed a flurry of expert blows on the animal's rump and watched it go down.

He gave silent thanks to the dogs at Camp 19 that had gone mad. They were infected with some kind of fungus a side effect of which was mindless aggression. Roy had been forced to execute several infected dogs and in the process learned the best ways to handle them.

Before he could gloat over the easy kill the dead dog's companion barreled into him from the left. He gasped as the weight of the animal drove the air from his lungs. He quickly used the last of his fluid to draw a shield around himself. Energy crackled along it and shocked the dog into leaping away from Roy.

Roy scrambled to his feet, drew his nailgun, and emptied it into the dog. Dazed and bleeding it pushed in to attack again and Roy kicked it in the head rolled and sank his axe into it's flank. It let out a whimpering whine and slumped to the ground.

Pissed and hurting now Roy rounded on Tenacity. Tenacity was saying something about Charity and old times. Roy couldn't really hear over the ringing in his head from the dog's attack and his own thundering pulse. Enraged he charged at Tenacity, dodged a clumsy overhand swing from his one-time colleague and drove the blunt top of his axe into Tenacity's lower jaw. The bounty hunter yelped as his head snapped backward.

Roy followed up the opening blow with a sharp stabbing gesture of the axe's haft into Tenacity's gut doubling the bigger man over then Roy slammed the flat of the axe into Tenacity's face knocking to the ground.

"Wait fuck stop! Jesus you're even better now than in the old days."

"A fucking war will teach you some new tricks." Roy snarled.

Eventually Tenacity got around to begging for his life. Disgusted and hurting Roy bound his wrists and ankles and went to free Charity. She was waiting in the shelter with Mary. Mary looked embarrassed; a goose egg lump was forming on the side of her forehead. Roy checked over the women then returned to Tenacity.

"I should execute you." He said and waited.

"Ah come on Roy this wasn't personal. I knew you were close with Charity that's all. I can be a good asset in a fight."

He thought about Innocence, the war, so much blood and for what? Killing Tenacity wouldn't guarantee an end to ghosts from the past. It wouldn't even guarantee no more trouble from Tenacity.

"If I let you live you work for me gratis, you don't cause trouble and you do everything I say when I say it. If you don't I'll kill you where you stand."

"Fucking deal." Tenacity agreed.


End file.
